Mountable document holder

ABSTRACT

A door mounted document holder having a panel having a pair of opposed sides having a curvilinear profile for supporting the side edges of documents and a curvilinear base for supporting the bottom of the document, a gap formed between the bottom of the curvilinear sides and the curvilinear base for facilitating access to the documents from the bottom, and optionally an indicator reversibly movable from a first position to a second position for communicating information to a user.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to door mountable document holders, and more particularly to a mountable document holder suitable for holding documents and papers in a neat and orderly manner, while facilitating easy access and visibility of the held documents or papers to the user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Document holders can typically be fabricated for mounting on vertical surfaces such as walls and doors have been used to organize documents and the like and to hold documents at an elevated position off a vertical surface such as, for example, on the door of a medical examining room. Typically, such mountable document holders include one or more thin box-like receptacles that can be mounted on the vertical surface each with an open top for receiving the documents to be held.

There is a need for a mountable document holder that can effectively hold documents, while providing enhanced access, visibility and easy retrieval of the documents. There is also a need to provide a mountable document holder that includes a readily visible indicator for showing information to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to mountable document holders designed to accommodate and hold one or more documents in a neat and orderly arrangement and to provide the user with enhanced visibility and access thereto. The mountable document holder of the present invention includes a panel suitably adapted for mounting on a fixed vertical surface such as a wall or a door (hereinafter collectively referred to as a mounted document holder). The mountable document holder further includes a base portion extending from the panel for supporting the bottom of the document placed thereon, and a pair of opposing side portions extending from the panel for supporting the sides of the document. The base portion is set apart from the side portions thereby defining a gap, which provides enhanced visibility and access to the document. The mountable document holder may further include an indicator for visually communicating information to the user. The mountable document holder of the present invention is easy to fabricate and mount on a fixed vertical substrate, while providing a convenient means for receiving and retaining documents.

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mountable document holder for supporting documents therein, comprising:

-   -   a panel having a pair of opposed curvilinear sides for         supporting the side edges of the documents and a curvilinear         base for supporting the bottom of the document, said opposed         sides being spaced apart from the base so as to form a gap for         facilitating access to the documents; and     -   means for mounting the holder to a vertically oriented         substrate.

In a more particular aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mountable document holder for supporting documents therein, comprising:

-   -   a panel mountable on a vertical surface including means for         retaining at least one document operatively associated with the         panel;     -   an indicator operatively associated with the retaining means,         wherein said indicator is adapted to be reversibly movable from         a first position to a second position for visually communicating         information to a user; and     -   means for mounting the holder to a vertically oriented         substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings are illustrative of embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention as encompassed by the claims forming part of the application.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mountable document holder containing a file folder drawn in phantom for one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded assembly view of the mountable document holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a front elevational view of a mountable document holder with an indicator moved to a first operating position in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a front elevational view of the mountable document holder of FIG. 3A with the indicator moved to a second operating position in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the mountable document holder of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the indicator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a mountable document holder, which is designed to provide convenient placement and retrieval of documents on a fixed vertical surface such as a wall or a door. The mountable document holder facilitates easy access and good visibility of the documents, while maintaining a visually pleasing appearance. In addition, the mountable document holder provides curvilinear sides and base to draw the documents contained within the holder toward each other thus preventing creasing or folding of the document.

The mountable document holder may further include an indicator, which may be manually set by the user to visually communicate to a user information or status of the room to which the door is attached (e.g. room is occupied or patient status) that may be relevant or associated with the documents. The mountable document holder is cost effective and easy to make and use.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a mountable document holder 10 is shown for one embodiment of the present invention. The mountable document holder 10 is adapted to be fastened to a fixed vertical surface (see FIG. 4) such as a door or a wall by any suitable means such as clips, hooks, adhesives, hook and eye devices, and the like, for reversibly receiving and retaining therein a document 12. The mountable document holder 10 includes a substantially flat panel 14 suitably adapted for secure flush mounting with the fixed vertical surface. The mountable document holder 10 further includes a curvilinear base portion 16 that extends from the lower end of the panel 14 to form a curvilinear support surface 18 capable of supporting the bottom of the document 12 and drawing documents together to prevent folding or creasing, and a pair of opposed curvilinear side portions 20 each extending from an opposed side end of the panel 14 suitably adapted to confine the ends of the document 12 so that it is retained within the holder 10 and so that the documents can be drawn together to prevent folding or creasing. The panel 14, the base portion 16 and the side portions 20, in combination, define a holding space 22 suitable for receiving and holding one or more documents.

The side portions 20 are each set apart from the base portion 16 to form corresponding access gaps 24 therebetween proximate the lower portion of the mountable document holder 10. The access gaps 24 facilitate access for the user to the document 12 retained in the holding space 22 by allowing the user to retrieve the document 12. The user can grasp a lower portion of the document 12 through one of the access gaps 24, and slide the document 12 through the access gaps 24 to facilitate retrieval. The configuration of the side portions 20 provides secure retainment of the document 12, while maintaining easy access from below.

The mountable document holder 10 may further include an indicator tab assembly 26 pivotably mounted to the base portion 16 for conveying information to the user. The indicator tab assembly 26 includes a pivot end 28 and a distal end 30. The distal end 30 of the indicator tab assembly 26 is freely movable around the pivot end 28. For one embodiment of the present invention, the indicator tab assembly 26 may further include a view window 32 to display or designate the specific information to be visually conveyed to the user. As shown in FIG. 2, the indicator tab assembly 26 is rotatably connected to a pivot port 34. The information to be visually indicated by the indicator tab assembly 26 may be printed on the face area 36 of the base portion 16 and is highlighted when the new window 32 is placed directly over a specific item of information.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the indicator tab assembly 26 is adapted to rotatably move from a first position (as shown best in FIG. 3A) to a second position (as best shown in FIG. 3B). In this embodiment, the face area 36 of the base portion 16 includes indicia 38 and 40 printed thereon. As shown in FIG. 3A, the indicator tab 26 is suitably positioned to highlight the indicia 40 through the view window 32, thus indicating, in this example, that the room to which the mountable document holder 10 is associated is occupied. As shown in FIG. 3B, the indicator tab 26 is positioned to highlight the indicia 38 through the view window 32 to indicate that the room is available for occupancy.

Referring to FIG. 4, the mountable document holder 10 may further include an adhesive pad 42 applied to a rear portion of the panel 14 to facilitate mounting on a fixed surface.

Referring to FIG. 5, the pivot end 28 of the indicator tab assembly 26 includes a pair of outwardly biased fingers 44 adapted for insertion into the pivot port 34 (as shown in FIG. 2). The fingers 44 couple into the pivot port 34 in a snap-in configuration to provide a secure pivotably movable connection between the indicator tab assembly 26 and the base portion 16.

The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims, that various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. 

1. A mountable holder for supporting documents therein, comprising: a panel having a pair of opposed curvilinear sides for supporting the side edges of the documents and a curvilinear base for supporting the bottom of the document, said opposed sides being spaced apart from the base to form a gap for facilitating access to the documents; and means for mounting the holder to a vertically oriented substrate.
 2. The mountable document holder of claim 1 wherein the base comprises a bottom portion, an upwardly extending front portion and a rear portion while together with the opposed sides defining a document storing area.
 3. The mountable document holder of claim 2 wherein the curvilinear sides comprise a front edge portion that curve toward the front portion.
 4. The mountable document holder of claim 3 wherein the extent of the curve in the curvilinear sides urge documents stored in the holder to be drawn toward each other.
 5. The mountable document holder of claim 4 wherein the extent of the curve in the curvilinear base urges documents stored in the document storing area to be drawn toward each other.
 6. The mountable document holder of claim 1 further comprising an indicator adapted to be reversibly movable from a first position to a second position for visually communicating information to a user.
 7. The mountable document holder of claim 6 wherein the base comprises a front face extending upwardly, said front face including said indicator.
 8. The mountable document holder of claim 7 wherein the indicator comprises a elongated tab having a first end pivotably attached to said front face, and a second end movable around the first end.
 9. The mountable document holder of claim 8 wherein the second end of the elongate tab viewing portion for distinguishing a marked portion of the front face thereof in the first position from the second position. 